The Dogs of Toronto Animal Services South

Magic greets me at her kennel door with a wagging tail and a wet nose through the wire mesh. The notes say she is prone to submissive peeing but I don't see any of that. Outside, she is friendly with everyone she meets and loves hanging around other dogs. I had Simone with me and introduced the two of them, just cuz, but Simone was like, "Get that blustery thing away from me," which is typical of Simone but Magic was not at all offended and continued to be friendly as friendly can be.

Will raise paw for snack

The best way to check on the adoption status of this dog (and other dogs and cats and other small domestic animals) is to visit Toronto Animal Services adoption website or call 416 338 6668 for the Toronto Animal Services South shelter. If the dog is no longer on the TAS adoption website, it's probably because it's been adopted already.

Chip is a skinny puppy who would prefer to be held under your jacket on days with anywhere near a temperature of less than balmy. At one point on our walk, he got spooked and managed to escape his harness and was about to run away from the scary noise but then perhaps realized I was the key to getting back inside the warm shelter so he stuck around. Plus I had snacks.

He's also a kisser so watch out for that.

The best way to check on the adoption status of this dog (and other dogs and cats and other small domestic animals) is to visit Toronto Animal Services adoption website or call 416 338 6668 for the Toronto Animal Services South shelter. If the dog is no longer on the TAS adoption website, it's probably because it's been adopted already.

This girl won't last long given the explosive popularity of Game of Thrones -- she's a dead ringer for a dire-wolf. Good news for you though, she's perfect sized for the city and your Ikea throne. Think of it, instead, of having no connection to this fantasy land (which, in reality is you sitting there with your Doritos stained pj's, shoving donuts down your face while you chuff at the red wedding, pretending it's the Doritos dust in your eyes and that you're not crying).

You could be taking your majestic dire-wolf-dog to the park to look for any Drogo look-a-likes. Watching her trot through the grounds reminded me of dense swarthy forests -- Celtic flutes softly playing in the background. But, she's too sweet for GoT; not enough drama with her story line. They'd probably write her out since she's not sleeping with her brother and her darkest side probably consists of food creeping. Let's hope she gets to be a kept lady of a castle; with those baby blue eyes you'd be lucky to adopt her and get to be her keeper.

- Rachael

The best way to check on the adoption status of this dog (and other dogs and cats and other small domestic animals) is to visit Toronto Animal Services adoption website or call 416 338 6668 for the Toronto Animal Services South shelter. If the dog is no longer on the TAS adoption website, it's probably because it's been adopted already.

Kane is a bit of a tank but a very happy tank. Here's his bio from Rachael:

I spot Kane, he spots me -- the corners of his mouth draw up into a goofy grin that stays firmly planted on his face the entire time. He looks so damn happy he's almost smug. Jeez, it doesn't take a lot to please this guy. The theme music looping in his head is definitely Pharell's "Happiness". From the moment I grab him to the moment I say goodbye, this guy is believing that happiness is a truth. If he had hands, he'd be clapping. His wiggle even looks like some kind of uncoordinated-shuffle-happy-dance. Maybe it's the spring and the sun that's put everything in a good mood, but I have a feeling this is all him. Sweet man.

The best way to check on the adoption status of this dog (and other dogs and cats and other small domestic animals) is to visit Toronto Animal Services adoption website or call 416 338 6668 for the Toronto Animal Services South shelter. If the dog is no longer on the TAS adoption website, it's probably because it's been adopted already.

After the walk, I bring Buddy back inside and as we pass the front desk, he stops to say hello to the staffer there. She says hello back and Buddy jumps onto the desk like a cat. And he sits and he wags his tail. On the one hand, I should be admonishing him but on the other hand, I'm very impressed. I know dogs can jump but no other dog has ever done this particular jump before, that I've seen anyway, and he managed the move with grace, knocking nothing over and landing confidently on a slippery surface.

I lift him back down onto my side of the desk. He's going to love kitchen counters.

The best way to check on the adoption status of this dog (and other dogs and cats and other small domestic animals) is to visit Toronto Animal Services adoption website or call 416 338 6668 for the Toronto Animal Services South shelter. If the dog is no longer on the TAS adoption website, it's probably because it's been adopted already.

Tex is very happy as I take him out of the kennel and he grabs a toy, a pink kong, but then he sees another toy, a yellow plushy, and decides he wants to bring that one as well so he tries to shove both things into his mouth but as soon as he gets the plushy in his mouth, the kong falls out and he tries to get the kong in his mouth and the plushy falls out. Chanel watches him from her kennel, fascinated with his efforts and general klutziness. It takes him about a minute but Tex finally figures out a way to get both toys into his mouth and now he's ready to go for a walk.

Outside, as we pass the first scent, Tex drops both toys and forgets about them and starts to sniff. Of course. So, now I have to carry these gloopy discards around for him. They train us well.

The best way to check on the adoption status of this dog (and other dogs and cats and other small domestic animals) is to visit Toronto Animal Services adoption website or call 416 338 6668 for the Toronto Animal Services South shelter. If the dog is no longer on the TAS adoption website, it's probably because it's been adopted already.

A bright blue plastic bag blows by as we are walking and Power runs for it and the weak faulty leash breaks so now he's off and chasing. He catches the bag, snagged under paws, and stops and looks at me, very happy with himself at his accomplishment. He grabs the bag in his mouth and runs at me but veers off, as dogs will do when they want to play and be chased, but I just stand there trying not to show any anxiousness that the dog I'm supposed to have under control is no longer under control. He circles back around and runs a couple of laps around me, trying to entice me to play. I grab a treat instead (peanut butter dog cookie), crouch and hold it out to him. I think he's slightly disappointed I don't engage in play with him but he's happy to take the treat regardless. He's wagging his tail anyway. Good boy, I say and rub his chest and give him a bunch more cookies and tie the ends of the leash back together. And he is a good boy to return to me, a relative stranger, when he had his freedom to run and run and run.

The best way to check on the adoption status of this dog (and other dogs and cats and other small domestic animals) is to visit Toronto Animal Services adoption website or call 416 338-6271 for the Toronto Animal Services West shelter. If the dog is no longer on the TAS adoption website, it's probably because it's been adopted already.

A request

The reason for this blog is to help get specific dogs adopted from TAS but equally important is to try to normalize the idea of shelter dogs being just as good and just as desirable as any other dogs including those which are regularly merchandised by backyard breeders, puppy millers and those few remaining pet store owners who still feel a need to sell live animals. The single greatest stigma shelter animals still face is the belief that shelter animals are substandard animals. Anyone who has had enough experience with shelter animals knows this is untrue but the general public hasn't had the same experiences you've had. They see a nice dog photo in a glossy magazine and too many of them would never think of associating that dog with a dog from a shelter. After all, no one abandons perfectly good dogs, right? Unfortunately, as we all know, perfectly good dogs are abandoned all the time.

The public still too often associates shelter dogs with images of beat up, sick, dirty, severely traumatized animals and while we definitely sometimes see victims such as these, they are certainly not the majority and, regardless, even the most abused animals can very often be saved and made whole again.

Pound Dogs sometimes discusses the sad histories some of the dogs have suffered. For the most part, though, it tries to present the dogs not as victims but as great potential family members. The goal is to raise the profiles of animals in adoption centers so that a potential pet owner sees them as the best choice, not just as the charity choice.

So, here's the favour I'm asking. Whenever you see a dog picture on these pages you think is decent enough, I'd like you to consider sharing it on Facebook or any other social media sites you're using (I know many of you do this already and thank you for that). And when you share it, please mention that the dog in the photo is a shelter dog like so many other shelter dogs waiting for a home. If we can get even five percent of the pet buying public to see shelter dogs differently, to see how beautiful they are and how wonderful they are, and to consider shelter dogs as their first choice for a new family member, we can end the suffering of homeless pets in this country.-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------